Malnutrition threatens thousands of South Sudanese kids

By RAJI BASHIR KHARTOUM, (CAJ News) – SOME 300 000 South Sudanese children are at high risk of death from malnutrition emanating from deteriorating food insecurity in the war-torn country.

More than 6 million locals, including 1,1 million children, are affected by the uncertainty of the availability of food.

The Unity State, with three counties affected, shows the most worrying trend of malnutrition.

Rosalind Crowther, representative of CARE, the non-governmental organisation, said the situation was particularly alarming also because of the new violence outbreak which prevented people from accessing food.

“The worst of the food crisis is yet to come,” Crowther said.

This year, CARE has screened 125 000 children aged under five and about 44 000 women for malnutrition. Some 43 400 children and 19 900 women have been treated.

“CARE is working around the clock to ensure that no child dies from malnutrition but additional funding is required to enable us to reach more children in need of life-saving assistance,” Crowther said.

A raging civil war is blamed for the dire food insecurity in South Sudan, the world’s newest country.

It spilled into a civil war in 2013 two years after independence from Sudan. The conflict resulted from a fallout between its liberators.